Jet Airways completes first set of 3 proving flights

Jet Airways on Sunday, May 15 conducted the first set of three proving flights with 18 people, including officials of the aviation regulator DGCA, onboard the aircraft, sources said.

The second set of two proving flights will be operated by Jet Airways on Tuesday, May 17. The second one will be Delhi-Hyderabad-Delhi.

The first of the three proving flights were conducted on the Delhi-Mumbai route, sources said.

ALSO READ - Jet Airways to have the best app and website; proving flights soon

Jet Airways Successfully Operated First Set of Proving Flights

Proving flights is the last step for the airline to obtain the air operator certificate (AOC). Proving flights require airlines to show that they can handle all commercial operations, which means Jet Airways set up its check-in counters, baggage services, and crew management.

The second flight was scheduled to return to Delhi, but after it departed from Mumbai, officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked the pilots to divert it to Ahmedabad. The DGCA diverts aircraft during proving flights to test the readiness of a new airline in handling such situations.

The second flight safely landed in Ahmedabad, and sometime after that, the third flight was conducted on the Ahmedabad-Delhi route. The aircraft used for these three proving flights was a Boeing 737 plane with registration number VT-SXE of Jet Airways.

There were 18 people -- four cabin crew members, two pilots, and 12 others, including DGCA officials and senior executives of Jet Airways -- onboard the plane during these three proving flights.

A total of five landings (five flights) have to be done by the aircraft to successfully complete its proving flights. Three landings were conducted on Sunday, May 15 and therefore, the remaining two will be conducted on Tuesday, May 17.

ALSO READ – Jet Airways conducts test flight after more than 3 years

Jet Airways had on May 5 conducted its test flight to and from Hyderabad in a step toward obtaining the AOC.

The airline plans to restart commercial flight operations in the July-September quarter.

ALSO READ – Jet Airways 2.0 gets security clearance from Home Ministry

Recently, The Union Home Ministry has granted security clearance to Jet Airways which is planning to relaunch commercial flight operations in the next few months, according to an official document. The letter was also sent to aviation safety regulator DGCA and aviation security regulator BCAS.

The airline in its old avatar was owned by Naresh Goyal and had operated its last flight on April 17, 2019. The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium is currently the promoter of Jet Airways. The airline plans to restart commercial flight operations in the July-September quarter.

Cover Image - Anshul Kadam (Twitter)

Tata Sons have held exploratory talks with Singapore Airlines (SIA), its joint-venture partner in Vistara, for a potential merger of the airline with Air India, multiple sources told The Indian Express.

SIA is learnt to have asked for time until the end of next year to decide whether it wants to go ahead. Tata Sons are the holding company of the Tata Group, which took over Air India from the government earlier this year. Vistara is the only other full-service carrier in India.

“The Tatas and Singapore Airlines have discussed the merger possibility earlier this year. SIA had even agreed to join the Tata bid for Air India but because of the pandemic, it decided to back out given its poor financial condition,” one of the persons aware of the development said on condition of anonymity.

Vistara may merge with Air India, decision expected by end of 2023

SIA had waived the non-compete clause in Vistara’s contract to allow the Tata Group to bid for the national carrier. Air India is now fully owned by the Tata Group, while Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between the Tatas and SIA.

ALSO READ - Air India to concentrate on expansion of its US routes while SIA is open to a Vistara-Air India merger

“SIA has asked for time till the end of 2023 to decide whether it wants to go ahead with the merger or not. What they’re looking for is some stability in their financial condition, and that of Air India’s operations post the disinvestment,” the source said.

“Discussions on how much equity Singapore Airlines will hold in Air India will be held once it has finalised its intention to merge,” the source added.

SIA had waived the non-compete clause in Vistara’s contract to allow the Tata Group to bid for the national carrier.

According to this person, the appointment of Air India’s new chief executive is a step in the direction of a possible merger. The Tata Group on Thursday, May 12 announced the onboarding of Campbell Wilson, a Singapore Airlines veteran and CEO of its low-cost unit Scoot.

Wilson’s appointment as Air India’s CEO & MD was made with the “full blessings” of Singapore Airlines. “The two groups sat together and took the call to appoint Wilson at Air India. The decision has been taken with a long-term perspective. Wilson has global aviation experience and comes with a long-term commitment to lead Air India’s turnaround,” another source said.

Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choong Phong said on Thursday, May 12: “Campbell is one of our most experienced senior executives who has made many important contributions in key management roles within the SIA Group. While we are sad to lose him, he goes to Air India with our full blessings.”

Tata Group announced the onboarding of Campbell Wilson, a Singapore Airlines veteran and CEO of its low-cost unit Scoot.

On Friday, May 13 in his farewell note to Scoot employees, Wilson wrote: “…There are other mountains to climb, and I am humbled to have been selected by Air India’s board as the airline’s new CEO. It is a fantastic opportunity to lead a historic airline, now owned by the Tata Group, to new heights, and I am grateful to embark on that exciting challenge with the full blessings of the SIA management team.”

The Tata Group won the bid to acquire Air India in October 2021, and the airline was transferred to its new owner in January. Vistara was launched in 2015.

Responding to a question from The Indian Express on the possible merger of Air India and Vistara, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson said: “We do not comment on any confidential discussions that we may or may not be having with our partners”.

Singapore Airlines Group posted its first quarterly profit since the onset of the pandemic in October-December 2021.

The Singapore Airlines Group reported a loss of SGD 4.3 billion (approximately INR 23,851 crore) for the financial year ended March 2021 as passenger volumes fell 97.9% during the period. The group posted its first quarterly profit since the onset of the pandemic in October-December 2021.

ALSO READ - Singapore Airlines reports profit for the first time since Covid-19 outbreak

Air India posted a net loss of INR 5,422.60 crore for the first half of 2021-22. The Tata Group has laid out a roadmap for the recovery of Air India, and to turn it around financially and operationally.

In Vistara, the JV partners have built a premium airline brand. During the January-March period, the two airlines together had a domestic passenger traffic market share of 18.7%.

Air India, Air India Express, AirAsia India and Vistara (51%) are now owned by the Tata Group.

ALSO READ - Tata Sons working on a merger between AirAsia India and Air India Express

The Tata Group also owns a majority stake in the low-cost airline AirAsia India, which could be merged with Air India’s budget subsidiary Air India Express. Last month, Air India sought approval from the antitrust regulator Competition Commission of India to acquire AirAsia India.

ALSO READ - Air India intends to purchase a 100% stake in AirAsia India; Tatas to relocate all 4 airlines to Gurgaon

A merger of Air India and Vistara would articulate Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran’s philosophy of “synergise”, given that the two airlines complement each other in some ways.

Air India is the only Indian carrier that flies to the US; Air India and Vistara are the only ones that fly to Europe.

They have identical fleets with Airbus A320 family aircraft in the narrow-bodied fleet meant for domestic and short-haul international routes, and Boeing 787 aircraft for medium to long-haul international routes. Air India also has Boeing 777 aircraft for its flights to the United States.

While Vistara has been established as a premium airline brand in the domestic segment, Air India’s strength lies in the international markets, especially the US and Europe. Currently, Air India is the only Indian carrier that flies to the US; Air India and Vistara are the only ones that fly to Europe.

(With Inputs from The Indian Express)

What can be described as a new and disruptive flight training simulator, for which Saturn Flight Simulator has acquired patents, is now followed by a letter of intent for six simulator orders.

Saturn Flight Simulator

Designed so that it is easily configurable for multiple aircraft and training scenarios and minimum maintenance, minimum operational cost, and minimum downtime. The cockpit can be custom-fitted as per customer requirements to include anything from generic single/multi-engine, Cessna 172 glass to a Boeing 737.

Touted to cost millions less than currently available traditional simulators, thereby bringing down acquisition and operational costs, the simulator features a full 360-degree rotation on all three axis and linear movement on heave and has high fidelity, high roll, yaw and pitch capabilities.

Furthermore, it is also intended to serve as a boundless training device for the entire spectrum of flight training including- initial, recurrent, Private Pilot License (PPL), Airline Transport Pilot (ATP), Minimum Performance Transponder (MPT), Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL), aerobatics, unusual attitudes, Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT), combat, agriculture, fire-fighting and more.

According to Saturn Flight Simulator, this is as close as it gets to the real aircraft flying experience with unsurpassed audio, visual, motion & intelligent feedback systems for enhanced sensory perception. It also believes that these features will make it suitable not only for commercial training but also for defence/combat training. They will also entice more facilities to purchase and offer existing Class D/Full Flight Simulators equivalent devices at the price of traditional B/A Flight Training Devices.

What does the market demand say?

Rising concerns over pilot demand, training costs, fluctuating fuel prices, and saving on actual aircraft maintenance & repair costs are some factors favourably driving the global simulator demand including, the importance of aircraft safety, and the need for substantial training.

Ageing simulator fleet-Advanced / FFS Simulators currently available in the market have high acquisition costs, coupled with high ongoing operation and maintenance costs.

Saturn Flight Simulator

Saturn Flight Simulator is currently in the engineering stage of design and finalizing on electro-mechanical, electronics and other components for the prototype.

While traditional simulators limit accessibility and the type of training provided, the design of this high-fidelity simulator will enable more inclusive training, which can help award more pilot training hours to overcome pilot shortages.

Fully operational models are slated to hit the floors by mid-2024.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Saturn Flight Simulator

Dubai's Emirates airline on Friday, May 13 posted an annual loss of USD 1.1 billion, a sharp improvement on the USD 5.5 billion loss in 2021, as demand for international travel was boosted by governments easing pandemic-related curbs.

The airline, which only operates international services, reported a 91% jump in revenue to USD 16.1 billion for the year ended March 31 as passenger numbers tripled to 19.6 million.

"Business recovery picked up the pace, particularly in the second half of the year," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement.

Emirates' annual loss reduced to USD 1.1 billion as international travel rebounds

The state-owned airline said it filled 58.6% of seats flown, up from 44.3% a year earlier, while the number of destinations it served increased from 120 at the start of the financial year to more than 140 as of March 31.

It was the airline's second consecutive annual loss and only the fourth in its almost 40-year operational history. Emirates has forecast a return to profitability this financial year, while Chairman Sheikh Ahmed said the Emirates Group, which includes the airline, would too.

The increased demand for air travel has boosted the airline’s finances, its revenues are up 91% to 16 billion as the airline expanded global capacity and reinstated more passenger flights. But rising fuel costs have snipped away at the profits.

It was the airline's second consecutive annual loss and only the fourth in its almost 40-year operational history.

“Fuel accounted for 23% of operating costs compared to 14% in 2020-21. The airline’s fuel bill more than doubled to AED 13.9 billion (USD 3.8 billion) compared to the previous year, driven by a higher uplift of 66% in line with capacity expansion and a higher average fuel price which was up by 75%,” it said.

“We expect the Group to return to profitability in 2022-23, and are working hard to hit our targets, while keeping a close watch on headwinds such as high fuel prices, inflation, new Covid-19 variants, and political and economic uncertainty.This year, we focussed on restoring our operations quickly and safely wherever pandemic-related restrictions eased across our markets."Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Emirates

The airline’s total operating costs increased by 30% from the last financial year. Cost of ownership (depreciation and amortisation) and fuel cost were the two biggest cost components for the airline in 2021-22, followed by employee cost, it said.

Chief Operating Officer Adel Al Redha warned this week that while Emirates was managing high fuel prices and inflation, the current oil price was not sustainable for airlines. He said airfares would increase, though airlines would have to absorb some costs so as not to stifle the rebound in travel.

Emirates Group reported a USD 1 billion loss for the year, with revenue rising 86% to USD 18.1 billion.

Emirates Group reported a USD 1 billion loss for the year, with revenue rising 86% to USD 18.1 billion. The Group's global airport and travel services business dnata made a USD 30 million profit.

Sheikh Ahmed said this week he hoped the airline would after the current financial year be able to start paying back the 15 billion dirhams (USD 4.1 billion) it received from the Dubai government during the pandemic.

Gulf rival Qatar Airways, whose financial year also ended March 31, is yet to report its annual results.

In what can be termed a critical milestone in the certification process of Wingcopter’s flagship delivery drone in the US, the Wingcopter 198 unmanned aircraft, has secured a Special Class Airworthiness Criteria from the FAA.

wingcopter

With the Airworthiness Criteria, the FAA defines technological requirements under title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), §?21.17(b) that must be met to have an aircraft type-certified for regular commercial operations in the United States.

Wingcopter 198 - tech and specs

Built on the patented tilt-rotor technology, the Wingcopter 198 is an eVTOL aircraft that surpasses various performance metrics & durability standards.

wingcopter

The unique aerodynamic design enables an efficient forward flight with a wide centre of gravity for flexible payload attachments, making it an optimal drone for cargo delivery.

wingcopter

The winglets extend the surface of the wing making it more efficient in a fixed-wing mode without compromising the compact size of the drone.

wingcopter

Designed to adhere to stringent safety standards, it features redundant system architecture with dual airspeed sensors, dual heading and positioning systems, and dual flight controllers., thereby rendering it an extremely high degree of reliability and safety.

Survey Instruments Services

Range75 km with 5 kg85 km with 3 kg95 km with 1 kg110 km without payloadSpeed144 km/h in maximum cruise speedAltitude5000 m PayloadUp to 6 kg total payload, max. 5 kg with triple dropTelemetryCellular 3G/4G/5GSatellite IRIDIUMAwarenessADS-B in, FLARM, Remote IDOptical Awareness SystemGround Awareness Systemwingcopter.com

What is the "triple drop"?

The Wingcopter 198 can deliver up to 3 separate packages to multiple locations with a total weight of 5 kg during one single flight.

wingcopter

For each delivery stop the Wingcopter 198 transitions from forwarding flight mode to hover mode and lowers the package in a matter of seconds.

The achievement of the airworthiness certificate is expected to streamline Wingcopter’s further certification efforts such as with the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) in Brazil or the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB).

Furthermore, Wingcopter will be able to fly conventional routes through airspace and overpopulated areas, ultimately providing the basis for scaling commercial drone delivery operations across the United States that will help save and improve lives, once type-certified.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8U9CUtVR0Y

We are proud to be among the first delivery drone companies worldwide to ever get their Airworthiness Criteria approved by the FAA. This is a very important milestone for us, not only in our Type Certification Process in the United States, but also for our international expansion efforts and for achieving our vision of building logistical highways in the sky. I would like to thank my team as well as the FAA for all the effort and great collaboration to reach this milestonesaid Tom Plümmer, co-founder and CEO of Wingcopter

Tom Plummer

Wingcopter is a German-based company, specializing in the manufacture of fixed-wing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and provider of drone delivery services. Having operated in various geographical settings, from the Arctics to the Middle Eastern desert and from remote islands in the South Pacific to San Diego Bay in the United States, the company boasts five years of experience in delivery drone operations.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: wingcopter

Jet Airways will have the best possible app, website and IT systems and services among all Indian carriers without losing the human touch, its CEO Sanjiv Kapoor said on Friday, May 13.

"Human interaction cannot be fully replaced by technology — it must always be there as a backup, especially when things go wrong (during irregular operations, etc)," he stated in an email to employees.

Kapoor said, "The Top 3 priorities for any CEO should be 1. Create the right culture, 2. Hire the best people, treat them well, and pay them fairly and on time, 3. Help develop the best strategy. In that order."

Sanjiv Kapoor, CEO, Jet Airways

In his letter on May 13, Kapoor said that his 'five foundation blocks' to focus on were securing Air Operator Certificate, buying new aircraft, having robust systems and processes to support operations, securing slots, and building a new team of employees.

Jet Airways is already in talks with major aircraft manufacturers and lessors and will soon take a call on the kind of aircraft to procure which aligns with the airline's long-term plans, added Kapoor.

The CEO, in his email, enlisted 10 guiding principles for employees. The tenth principle said that Jet Airways is a people-focused airline for the digital age.

Jet Airways to have the best app and website; proving flights soon

"We will have the best app, website, and IT systems and services possible. However, we will not give up the human touch — there will always be the option to speak with a human. We are in the people and customer business," Kapoor elaborated.

The first principle stated that as an airline, safety is paramount and therefore, there will be absolutely no room for short-cuts or compromises. The second principle said that common sense, values and principles will guide Jet Airways and not some "rigid" rulebook.

"At all levels, people will be empowered to make decisions by values and common sense; values such as respect, fairness, empathy, transparency, decency and hard work," Kapoor elaborated.

Jet Airways is already in talks with major aircraft manufacturers and lessors and will soon take a call on the kind of aircraft to procure

The third principle mentioned that the company’s culture would be based on love, passion and mutual respect and not fear. Open, transparent and regular communication between senior management and other employees will be the fourth principle, according to Kapoor.

Political views should be kept outside the office, the fifth principle said. There should be no "chalta hai (anything goes)" attitude, the sixth principle noted. The seventh principle elaborated on the fact that professionalism must be maintained in "our dealings and our appearances, at work or outside of work".

The eighth principle stated that the results and output of each employee will be the final adjudicator for efforts and contribution and not face-time. "A desire to 'Think Different' while being customer-driven" will be the company’s ninth guiding principle, Kapoor mentioned.

Jet Airways’ proving flights on May 15 and May 17

Jet Airways’ proving flights, the last step for the carrier to obtain the air operator certificate (AOC), are scheduled to take place on May 15 and May 17, officials of aviation regulator DGCA said on Friday. Jet Airways conducted its test flight to and from Hyderabad in a step towards obtaining the AOC.

Jet Airways’ proving flights on May 15 and May 17

ALSO READ - Jet Airways conducts test flight after more than 3 years

Proving flights are similar to commercial flights but with officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), executives and flight crew of the carrier concerned on board. On May 5, Jet Airways conducted its test flight to and from Hyderabad in a step towards obtaining the AOC.

The airline plans to restart commercial flight operations in the July-September quarter. DGCA officials said the proving flights of the airline, using its B737 aircraft, are scheduled to take place on May 15 and May 17.

The airline in its old avatar was owned by Naresh Goyal and had operated its last flight on April 17, 2019. The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium is currently the promoter of Jet Airways.

The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium is currently the promoter of Jet Airways.

Kapoor’s email said the airline will "very soon conduct" its proving flight, the last step before obtaining the AOC.

ALSO READ - Jet Airways 2.0 gets security clearance from Home Ministry

Recently, The Union Home Ministry has granted security clearance to Jet Airways which is planning to relaunch commercial flight operations in the next few months, according to an official document. The letter was also sent to aviation safety regulator DGCA and aviation security regulator BCAS.

Jet Airways had suspended operation in April 2019. It will be the first airline to resume operations under the insolvency rules.